Current internal combustion engines often take the form of a V engine in which the cylinders and pistons are aligned in two separate planes such that they are arranged in a “V” configuration when viewed from an end of the engine block. The “V” configuration was originally developed to reduce the size and weight of inline engine configurations and are now commonplace in today's automobiles and other motorized vehicles. V-engines are thus adapted for use with conventional fuel systems, such as direct injection and multi-point fuel injection systems.
Fuel systems for internal combustion engines are constantly evolving as concerns of environmental impact increase. One such recently developed fuel system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,510,171 and provides for an apparatus for delivering thermally cracked fuel into the inlet manifold and thereafter to the cylinders of an internal combustion engine. The apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 7,510,171 may interact with various types of heat exchangers to impart heat to the fuel delivered to the fuel system. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,881,711 describes a fuel system having a heat exchanger for using heated exhaust air to heat fresh cool air prior to such fresh cool air being delivered to a fuel system.
V-engines with traditional fuel injection systems require a large amount of space to accommodate a large number of stock parts, such as injectors for each cylinder, fuel rails, etc.
Accordingly, new thermal fuel delivery systems and methods are needed to accommodate new technologies, reduce stock parts needed for integration of an engine to a vehicle and for adapting to the V-shape of internal combustion engines.